Tag Archives: Ballyloughane

Dinghy Sailing Galway

Galway Sailsports Club

Galway Sailsports Club

It’s been a summer of dinghy sailing so far. I have joined a new sailsports club based at the harbour in Galway. Galway Sailsports Club has been set up to cater for three sports, Dinghy Sailing, Kite Surfing and Sail boarding. The location is excellent and we sail twice a week on Thursdays and Saturdays. We have been sailing just off Ballyloughane beach some evenings. I’m delighted that there is sailing so close to the city; I always had a feeling that the local resources were being underutilised. Only issue I have with sailing is that you need a lot of gear necessitating me to use the car more than I’d like. Next stop Amazon to get large panniers for the bike….

Starling and Crane Fly (Daddy Long Legs)

Starlings and Hooded Crow in spring

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Starling and Crane Fly (Daddy Long Legs)

Starling and Crane Fly (Daddy Long Legs)

Just getting around to these pictures on the camera memory card. They were taken in May at Ballyloughane beach, Galway. Thought I’d better get them online before the new year! There was what I can only describe as frenzied feeding of chicks going on that day. They seemed to collect food along the grass in waves, one bird overlapping the next, returning to their chicks in the trees beside the grass in an ongoing cycle. There was an absolute feast of Daddy Long Legs to get through. It was very interesting to watch and I got a good few photos, a selection of which I have published here. Nearby I saw a Hooded Crow lurking in the trees, I got the impression it was looking for an opportunity to grab a small chick, though I am not sure if that is what they do, but it was looking for something that’s for sure!

Ribwort Plantain

Wild Flowers – Ribwort Plantain and friend

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Back in May, at Ballyloughane, I took this picture of Ribwort Plantain. It is a plant I have known all my life but never knew the name of nor even thought about it. As a kid it uesd to grow in our garden in Arklow Co Wicklow and we would play a version of conkers with it or simply just hit each other with it. Great days and great fun. When trying to identify the plant I came accross this lovely website Wild Flowers Of Ireland which is well worth a visit.

I have not been able to identify the purple flower but enjoyed trying to take the close up picture.

Low Tide At Ballyloughane Beach Galway – Hare Island

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At the beach and tide is so low you can walk over to Hare Island. I had seen on google maps that there looked like a walkway to the island below the water but I had never seen it before. Tide has been out for an hour now so will not walk out in case tide comes in and I get stuck out there! If I was a kid I’d say what an adventure it would be. Looks like there are oyster catchers among the rocks. Not seen any for a good few months round here. Must look up their habits. Too dull for pictures of the birds.


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* A handy app for your iPhone is Marine Day Tides so you can tell when high and low tide is.
* This is the google map where you can see the walkway to the Island from above.
* This is the link to an article I found about Tadhg Seoighe, a Ballyloughane man of note, who, in later life, wrote stories mostly in Irish based on memories of the past and local folklore.

Ballyloughane Beach, Galway, Ireland

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I had a lovely lunchtime not too long ago wandering about Ballyloughane Beach, Galway, Ireland, taking pictures. These first two pictures are of the undisturbed sand just after the tide went out. The rest of the pictures are of Lugworm casts. To me the Lugworm casts and the sand they erupted from seemed to create some sort of alien landscape. I was fascinated by the thought that this landscape would exist like this for such a short time, it would not be too long before people, dogs and possibly even horses would leave their mark on the sand too and then the tide would rise again and wipe the slate clean.
Ballyloughane is a really great beach very near the city. It is a popular spot for joggers, power walkers, dog walkers, families and older folk who simply sit in their cars just looking out over Galway Bay. I have even seen guys in office attire down there after work picking shellfish, presumably, for a romantic dinner when they get home. Not being a big fish eater I have not tried it myself but it definitely appeals to the romantic in you!